Starbucks won't slug it out in ad wars

When Market share is as tight as in the coffee industry, or growth shows signs of decreasing, companies are more concerned about their competition. This can be seen in Dunkin' Donuts, and not a usual competitor with Starbucks, McDonalds, are both running negative ads against Starbucks. Downgrading the quality of its product and its pricing strategies



Coffee chain says it'll take high road

By ANDREA JAMES
P-I REPORTER

McDonald's has erected a billboard in sight of Starbucks headquarters declaring, "four bucks is dumb."

If Dunkin' Donuts' taste test commercials were the schoolyard equivalent of blowing spitballs at the coffee giant from afar, then the latest from McDonald's is like pulling a wedgie. Starbucks employees driving northbound can see the billboard on their way into the city.

Another billboard slogan jabs, "large is the new grande." The two phrases are displayed on 140 billboards in Western Washington, some of them near Starbucks cafes.

"The billboard placement was done because we picked high visibility locations," said Alan Finkelstein, who owns four McDonald's in King County. "We really wanted to point out that ordering an espresso at McDonald's is quick and simple. Small, medium and large. It's easy."

Earlier this year, McDonald's started unsnobbycoffee.com to promote the launch of espresso drinks in the Seattle market.

Will Starbucks respond in kind? Unlikely.

While the coffee wars received much media and Wall Street trumpeting this year, Starbucks has been mostly silent, maintaining that its customer base is different.

Starbucks could fire back that not all of its coffee costs four bucks, or that extra cents help pay for health care for baristas. (A 12-ounce cup of brew starts at $1.40 at Starbucks, a penny more than the average McDonald's brew price. A small McDonald's latte costs $1.99 compared with $2.45 to $3.15 at Starbucks.)

Instead, it is fighting back in a more subtle way. Executives have hinted that Starbucks is taking the high road.

"We get a lot of questions on the competition and that everyone seems to be picking on Starbucks through their advertising and try to reposition Starbucks as expensive or snobby, and, boy, when is Starbucks going to start advertising and join in that coffee conversation?" Starbucks Chief Marketing Officer Terry Davenport told investors last week in New York.

"We're not going to get into that conversation. We're not going to get sucked into the, 'My coffee is better than your coffee,' price point type of coffee conversation. We're going to play at a much higher level."

Starbucks is relatively new to the advertising game after two decades of building its brand on word of mouth. However, armed with newly hired advertising agency BBDO New York, Starbucks placed two commercials recently. One, which ran during the "Saturday Night Live" show before Election Day, advertised that Starbucks would give out free coffee Nov. 4.

The second ran on the heavily traveled Wednesday before Thanksgiving, on the Weather Channel and CNN, to let customers know that Starbucks would be donating portions of coffee sales to help African AIDS victims.

The coffee giant also is turning to cheaper modes of advertising via YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

During an interview that aired this week with CBS anchor Katie Couric, Starbucks Chief Executive Howard Schultz made clear his feelings about one of the rivals.

"I think the way we deal with that is not to respond to something that's that frivolous," he said. "Are you going to say to your friend, 'Let's go meet at Dunkin' Donuts?' Are you going to say that?"

He pointed out the "Saturday Night Live" advertisement as a success. "We had an amazing response to that. Amazing."

More insight into how Starbucks' top brass really feels about McDonald's and Dunkin' can be found in ousted Chief Executive Jim Donald's severance agreement, in which he was prohibited from working for either competitor, but was permitted to work for Burger King.

Even though Starbucks won't play along publicly, it's still fun to pick on the company, said consumer anthropologist Robbie Blinkoff, who studies consumer reaction to the financial crisis.

"It's even more fun now with the economy," Blinkoff said. "I'm back and forth about my love, hate with Starbucks. I love to hate them."

A new type of consumer, more conscientious, less vain, is emerging. Fewer will be "slaves" to Starbucks, he said.

"We're going to come out with a new identity. It doesn't mean that people won't go in and buy a Starbucks cup of coffee, but they'll know why they're buying it again. It's more like a reboot."

The advertising campaigns against Starbucks signal a shift in the rules, especially when a corporate behemoth such as Oak Brook, Ill.-based McDonald's goes after a company half its size.

The commonly held wisdom that attack ads are an underdog's game no longer applies, said Emily Bryson York, a Chicago-based food reporter for Advertising Age.

Attack ads are popular right now: Mac vs. PC. Campbell's vs. Progresso. Dunkin' vs. Starbucks.

"A big part of this is the economy and marketers feeling like the economy is in horrible shape, people have fewer discretionary dollars and you have to sharpen your elbows," York said.

McDonald's is trying to build up its coffee credibility.

"That at least seems to be why they're going after the Seattle market so aggressively," York said. "The thing about these comparative campaigns is you have to hammer away at them for a long time. You can't just hit someone and then run away. You have to have a lot of marketing dollars to put behind it and that's something that McDonald's could theoretically do."

It's unclear whether McDonald's will take its "four bucks is dumb" campaign national. Nationwide, 4,000 out of 13,000 McDonald's restaurants sell espresso and the number is growing. Out of the 190 McDonald's in Western Washington, 155 sell espresso.

"We see ourselves as trying to enter a new category and steal as much of the breakfast and coffee share as we can garner," said Kelly Hoyman, Northwest region marketing director for McDonald's.

The fact that "four bucks" sort of rhymes with "Starbucks" is not on purpose, said John Livengood, executive creative director at DDB Seattle, McDonald's advertising agency.

"The idea is, in a billboard, you got three or four seconds to capture people's attention," he said. "You're trying to be as short and sweet and as pithy as possible."

No matter what McDonald's does, Starbucks is likely to stay on its own message, and surgically pick advertising spots that promote social responsibility.

Says Starbucks chief marketer Davenport: "The answer to how we're going to respond to the competition is we're not going to respond. We're going to keep doing what we do and we're going to keep doing it our way."

Change, everywhere

Detecting some Obama brand spillover in the marketing of smoothies in South Africa:



Anyone else know of any other ad campaigns that use the Obama brand of change?

80% Of Consumers Won't Buy A Car From A Company That Files Bankruptcy

At first I didn't really think this article had anything to do with our international marketing class, in fact I started reading it to keep up with the news on the auto industry. But this does speak to our class in the way of branding, especially internationally. If one of the Big Three goes bankrupt, what will that do to its branding? Or to its loyal customers? Will they not receive their full term of warranties? Will it make them an inferior brand domestically, or internationally? It is all really interesting stuff. If GM, Chrysler or less likely Ford file for bankruptcy what will their marketing be like abroad, will they stick to their original branding, reliable, built ford tough, or will they have to come up with new ad campaigns? And lastly this would mean a great market capitalization by auto manufactures like Toyota, who can come into the market (where 80% of people don't buy cars from bankrupt people, see study below), would this mean they would mass market even more to get their name out, say they are more reliable? While they will have no problem directly comparing brands in the US, some countries are not comfortable with that kind of competition. So how can they say they are more reliable than the Big Three in countries like China or Japan?

Vociferous southern Senators like Richard Shelby and Bob Corker made it clear during the auto industry hearings yesterday that they would very much like to see Detroit automakers go bankrupt, without mentioning how it would benefit the heavily subsidized foreign automakers in their right-to-work states.

As I watched cable news following the hearings, people appeared preaching Corker's gospel of Chapter 11 as a way to make them "financially viable," including Robert Reich (video). Nobody seemed to think that consumers will have any problem buying cars from a company that has filed for bankruptcy.

MSNBC analyst Chrystia Freeman: "I think the carmakers are using a lot of scare tactics, trying to play chicken with the politicians. We heard it with Phil Lebeau actually -- 'oh, well no one will buy cars from a company that's in bankruptcy.' I don't think that's proven."

Really?

A recent study from automotive market research firm CNW surveyed 6000 people intending to buy a new car within six months, and discovered that more than 80 percent of them would switch brands if the vehicle they wanted came from an automaker that went bankrupt. Breaking it down by company, Americans were more likely to abandon domestic automakers than foreign ones, with Chrysler faring the worst -- a full 91 percent of buyers wouldn't take home an Auburn Hills product if the company went bankrupt. Ford and GM didn't do much better, with 80 percent of those surveyed saying they would jump ship if things went south.

Freeman went on to say that foreign automakers are doing quite well in the US, actually, it's only the domestic automakers who can't be competitive because of their "legacy costs." In fact, as Marcy Wheeler notes, sales are down across the board -- and Ford's are holding better than those of Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, and Kia. In fact, Ford doesn't require a bridge loan, and isn't asking for one -- they may have enough cash to weather the storm, but are requesting a line of credit as a backstop should things get worse. Common sense would inform most people that if this turns out to be the case, foreign automakers will not be immune, either.

The fact that the Detroit automakers are in a cash flow crunch, and that getting rid of legacy costs would do almost nothing to ameliorate that, doesn't seem to have occurred to her.

Did she pick up Richard Shelby's talking points in the green room by accident?

As former Wall Street GM analyst Ron Glanz said recently, an American made car is already selling for $4000 less than the exact same car made by a Japanese manufacturer would, expressly because of bad product legacy and fear that the manufacturer will go bankrupt. It's a PR problem that can't be overcome simply by waving your arms and shouting "no, no, really, Chapter 11 bankruptcy. . . it's just financial reorganization."

The danger here is, if they're wrong -- and all the evidence is that these "experts" are terribly, terribly wrong -- they're dooming US automakers to a hole they may never be able to dig themselves out of.

One in ten jobs in the US is directly tied to the auto industry. The stakes here are high. It shouldn't be too much to ask that people do a little research before climbing on cable news an making outrageous and demonstrably false claims.

Click on the title to go to the original article.

Boeing Jet Faces Delays in the Wake of Walkout

Follow up on the Boeing case study we did in class:

Boeing Co. may further delay first deliveries of its flagship 787 Dreamliner by at least six months to account for the recent strike by union machinists and other snags.

According to people familiar with the situation, Boeing officials are expected to announce later this month that first deliveries of the fuel-efficient jet might not occur until summer 2010, more than two years after the jet was originally scheduled to enter service. Boeing's most recent schedule called for initial deliveries in the third quarter of 2009.

In recent days, these people said, Boeing has been meeting with suppliers and partners on ...

To continue article click on the title.

Global Retailing and Media

The use of media streams is essential to successfully marketing products in other countries. Over the last decade, digital media has played a major role in marketing products abroad. The use of the internet has allowed companies to market products, and make advertisements over the internet that can be seen all over the world at the same time. There are some marketing executives that believe that digital media is the wave of the future, and print media will slowly die out as the world becomes more dependent on technology. I believe that print media is still a very useful marketing tool, and will always be relevant when marketing a product. I have researched the pros and cons of using digital media and print media as part of a companies marketing strategy to expose itself in new and foreign markets.

Digital Media

The internet has given companies the ability to market products everywhere in the world. It is very effective and cost efficient. The use of pop-up advertisements and spam mail on the web has allowed companies to do mass advertisements, and lead huge marketing efforts over the web. Advances in consumer technology has allowed for people to stream videos onto their cell phones as well as shop for products on their cell phones. With the heavy use of social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace companies can advertise to millions of consumers across the world. The simple fact that the internet can allow consumers in rural areas to purchase products, when otherwise they would not have access to buy it; is an example of why the use of internet by global retailing companies is only going to increase.

Advertising and marketing on the internet is cost efficient, but not always effective. Internet users do not always click on pop-up advertisements or open spam mail. In fact most people feel that spam and pop-up advertisements ruin there web surfing experiencing, thus the multitude of software programs to eliminate spam from one’s inbox and pop-up blocking applications. The over use of the web for advertisements sometimes has a negative affect on the response someone will have to the advertisement. They sometimes will simply just ignore, or quickly click out of online advertisements.

Print Media

Print media is highly effective when marketing a product abroad, specifically outdoor advertisements. Whether someone is using a metro system and sees a striking ad, or driving in a city and sees a huge billboard advertising some product; the outdoor use of print media is extremely eye catching. Companies that use this technique, which is rather popular in the Europe, can increase the visibility of their products or brand to large audiences. With the use of outdoor advertisements, people are more inclined to stop, look, and/or read the advertisement. Print Media is costly in the form of newspaper and magazine ads but outdoor media is relatively cheap and it works for the company all day, every day. The cost of billboard advertising ranges from about $700 to $2,500 a month. That sounds like a good sum of money, but a full-page ad running for one day in a major newspaper costs about the same. The Outdoor Advertising Association of America estimates that U.S. businesses spent more than $5.5 billion on outdoor advertising in 2003.

Outdoor print media does have its drawbacks. Outdoor print media is subject to the elements which could damage signage. Outdoor media is also much harder to change than a digital media advertisement. Outdoor media can also be subject to vandalism and graffiti. Print media also cannot reach as wide of an audience as an internet ad could.


Global retailing companies, should focus on both print media (outdoor) and digital media. Depending on how digital a particular market is, will determine how heavily a company should use digital advertisements. The use of outdoor advertisements will be generally based on the availability of high traffic areas to place outdoor advertisements. Both are great ways to market a product abroad, and are necessary for global retailing companies to succeed abroad.

Gas Prices Affecting Consumer Spending

In September of 2008 gas prices were down 13%, and since then gas prices have continued to go down. However, the gas prices were so high in July and August, that consumers had very little income to spend on goods, and the economy continued to slow. Consumers no longer had the available income to spend on foreign imports, like clothes, watches, and electronics. As gas prices dropped, retail sales increased. Sales for clothing went up 3.3% after August. Consumers now have more disposable income to spend on goods again. This means that foreign imports will see an increased sales and growth, as long as gas prices continue to drop and stay low. Because the U.S. economy is so large, when the average American consumers can no longer afford to buy foreign imports, it affects global retailing.

Since, the drop in gas prices women clothing is one of the sectors that is doing well. This is because consumers have more money to spend, and designers have changed styles to adjust to the hard economic times and added more grays and duller tones to their respective fall and winter lines. Chain retailers like Target and J.C. Penny are experiencing growth in sales due to the drop in gas prices. Consumer electronics sales also were boosted with the relatively sudden drop in gas prices.

It is clear that when gas prices are so high that consumers have to cut spending, global retailing will take a hit. This would also be the case if any other necessary amenity such as, natural gas (heating), electricity, or water were to see severe spikes in prices. However, gas prices are low again, and consumers have more cash to spend on luxury items. This could not have happened at a better time seeing that the holidays (Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza) are around the corner. Retailers expect huge increases from holiday sales in 2007.

Global Retailing Trends

The global retailing trends suggest that, the continued growth and market penetration of the largest retailers is having a major macro-economic impact. The rising competition among these major retail players is forcing prices down and allowing the price conscious consumer to have more power as a consumer. Global retailing trends also suggest that the recent mergers and acquisitions activity by the major players in global retailing has produced significant movement in the ranks beyond the top 10 retailers. However, sales growth would generally create huge expenses. Earnings for companies that were involved with a merger or an acquisition were hit hard by integration and conversion costs, and companies have struggled to extract maximum value from their acquisitions. In terms of global retailing it is important to note that food-related retail stores still heavily outnumber other types of retailers. According to Deliotte, “nearly 60 percent of the Top 250, and 9 of the top 10 retailers, sell food, with most operating a variety of formats including supermarkets, hypermarkets/supercenters, hard discount stores, cash & carry/warehouse clubs, and convenience stores.”

After analyzing these trends one can deduce that the global economy is rich place for retailers to do business. With the increase in activity in the global economy retailers can expect to see more global distributing channels form as well as current channels becoming more efficient. Finally consumers can expect to see lower prices around the globe with all of the competition that is taking place in the global market. The competition from all of the retailing companies will drive prices down and give consumers more bang for their buck.

Sports, Sponsorships and International Business Marketing

Sports play a unique a role when it comes to international marketing. Sports are played in most countries throughout the world d and in the most developed countries sports can be used a marketing tools for companies to market their product or services abroad. Sport teams, sport leagues, stadiums, and major sporting events are all great places for international exposure. Many companies will pay millions of dollars to become global sponsors of the Olympics. Roughly a dozen multinational corporations such as Coca-Cola, Lenovo, McDonald's and Samsung paid as much as $U.S. 100 million each to be global sponsors of the Beijing Olympics. The reason why companies are willing to pay such large amounts of money to become sponsors or major international sporting events like the Olympics or the World Cup, is because the international exposure their company will get around the world. The Olympics or the World Cup could be the platform a company needs to introduce its product or services in a variety of international markets. It is common for companies interested in entering the U.K. market to try garner a sponsorship deal from one of the major soccer clubs. Sponsoring an event or sports team can become a financially sound investment and can help ease the barriers to entry in certain markets. It is easy to see how sport related companies like Addidas and Nike benefit fro m sponsoring an international sports team or event, but non sport related companies that link themselves to sports benefit as well. In 2005, Deutsche Bank continued its previous co-title sponsorship of the Deutsche Bank-SAP Open and became the exclusive title sponsor. The event will be renamed "Deutsche Bank Player's Championship of Europe". Title sponsorships of a sporting event are great ways to market abroad. The Royal Bank of Scotland is also a sponsor of the British Open. Last year, during the British Open, the Royal Bank of Scotland tried to appeal to American consumers with their commercials starring American golf legend Jack Nicklaus.

Earlier in the year, there was a case study on Clif Bar and how they should enter the Australian market. My suggestion would be to sponsor a major sports team in Australia, such a rugby team. The exposure Clif Bar would receive from a popular sports team endorsing its product as a healthy organic sports bar, would help position the product in the Australian market. Athletic consumers would put Clif Bar on their radar as well as consumers that were interested in organic products. Companies in a position like Clif Bar, should always try to sponsor a sports team or league in the foreign market they which to enter. Sponsoring a team in a foreign market that you which to enter, can serve as a litmus test to gauge the amount interest and “buzz” that your product or service made with out really committing any of the companies services long term.

Obama's Affect on International Business

In the coming months a new president will take office and an old president will leave the white house. As George Bush leaves, his administration will take with them their policies on the war, taxes, and most importantly (as it pertains to International Business) their policies on outsourcing. Outsourcing is a necessary part of the global economy. For companies to produce cheaper and cut costs, they will find cheaper resources in other countries. Resources that companies generally outsource for are materials, services, and labor. When a company outsources there are positive effects and negative effects. The company will see more profits by cutting costs. The company will be able to price their product more competitively and sometimes create a better, higher quality product. The negative effect of outsourcing is the loss of jobs. When a GM closes a plant in Michigan and opens one in Mexico, 10,000 Mexicans might have a new job, but 10,000 Americans are out of a job. Barack Obama is highly opposed to this scenario. He believes that American based companies need to stop outsourcing jobs to other countries. Barack Obama will most likely place punitive taxes on American companies that plan on outsourcing their labor to other countries. Obama will also most likely provide tax cuts to American companies that keep jobs in America.

Under the George Bush administration, the American steel companies have just about disappeared due to the cheaper Japanese steel and the lack of trade barriers imposed by President Bush. When Barack Obama assumes office, he will most likely impose tariffs on foreign imports that pose a significant challenge to American businesses. Obama will most likely use other form of trade barriers to make it harder and more expensive for foreign companies to import their products.

In the Boeing vs. Air Bus case, the underlying issue was who was going to receive the new U.S. government contract to build some new military aircraft. The case is still in the federal courts. If John McCain was elected president, Air Bus would have been most likely awarded the government contract. However, Barack Obama will be the next president; he will most likely award the contract to Boeing. Under Obama’s presidency there will definitely be some changes to how American companies do business abroad, and how foreign companies due business in America.

Lousy Marketing -- Not Lousy Cars -- Killed Detroit

Long before the CEOs of the Big Three hopped aboard their private jets, they presided over the biggest marketing failure in American history.

Many miles ago, long before Detroit started losing billions a month, it lost something even more important: its roadmap to the American unconscious.

So while we've heard all the arguments for the impending demise, it's high time we took Detroit's slow-motion suicide for what it is: a marketing failure, probably the biggest one in history. It takes years of monumental incompetence to squander the biggest, deepest love affair the American consumer has ever had.

I wasn't surprised when Detroit's million-dollar men cranked up their corporate jets on Friday, popping warm nuts while strategizing about how to land some cold cash.

That 360-horsepower blunder--which may very well have sealed the fate of the Big Three--capped off decades of marketing incompetence.

Car companies have so many levels of creative approval that even a crash dummy would have trouble surviving the process.

The image destruction started when their brands began to exhibit the worst kind of corporatist behavior, summoning up dark memories of the tobacco industry. They battled against every safety initiative, starting with mandatory seat belts. They tried to beat back higher CAFE standards. They lobbied against electric cars and alternative fuel.

As consumers were increasingly making purchase decisions based on the practices of the company behind the product, the domestic auto industry became a loathsome choice.

Detroit's bad actions hurt it with a huge part of the market--the more than 30 million people in Richard Florida's "Creative Class" who work with ideas, live in urban areas, and are more progressive. Even the more traditional consumers who stuck with American cars felt abandoned.

The jerks running the companies didn't help. Your CEO is a marketing statement, and in an era of visionary leaders celebrated by the media--other than Lee Iacocca, who retired in 1979--the guys running the show were overcompensated, colorless zeroes.

From 1974 through 2000, GM was piloted by Tom Murphy, Roger Smith, Bob Stempel, and John Smith, failures whose names are recalled only as poster guys for deck-chair rearrangement.

As these weak-kneed leaders came under pressure for their practices and products, they turned psychologically inward. It all culminated with Michael Moore's Roger and Me in 1989, a national display of corporate paranoia. An industry whose birthright was independence came to represent villainous bureaucracy.

And in a colossal marketing mistake that scraped away any chance for individuality, Detroit's legions of PR firms continued to let its brands be bundled as the Big Three. Can you imagine Apple permitting itself to be bundled with Dell and HP this way?

Ironically, though, as its reputation plummeted, Detroit's cars actually improved. The Detroit Free Press notes that Consumer Reports recently found that "Ford's reliability is now on par with good Japanese automakers." And J.D. Power ranked Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, GMC, Mercury, Pontiac, and Lincoln brands' overall quality as high or higher than that of Acura, Audi, BMW, Honda, Nissan, and Volvo.

This is an epic advertising failure, attributable to Detroit's stubbornness and arrogance. The Big Three kept working with a small group of the biggest and most boring ad agencies, refusing, until recently, to work with anyone who didn't have car experience. Leo Burnett has worked with GM since the 1930s; J. Walter Thompson has worked with Ford for more than 60 years.

I've worked in advertising for a while--thankfully, never on a car account. And I will tell you that it's well-known in the industry that working with Detroit is torture. The Big Three's demand for mediocrity is legendary. They have formulaic rules--the "running shot" of the car has to be a certain length in every commercial--and they have so many levels of creative approval that even a crash dummy would have trouble surviving the process intact.

To finish the article click on the title.

Marketing dives deeper into cyberspace

Friday, November 28, 2008
Business First of Columbus - by Paul E. Kostyu

A trivia game popular on college campuses in the 1990s challenged players to connect any actor with movie star Kevin Bacon in as few links – called degrees – as possible. The game played on the concept that we live in a small world.

Guess what? The world is getting smaller, at least figuratively.

With the rise of social media, think YouTube and Facebook, people are finding ways to connect in fewer and fewer degrees. Springboarding off of that is the concept of viral marketing, which used to happen by word of mouth and now is happening especially through social media.

Viral marketing and advertising – unlike traditional advertising seen in newspapers, television and heard on radio – promotes a brand over the Internet or other technology and spreads like a good virus, said Doug Ross, chairman of the marketing and communications master’s degree program at Franklin University.

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NIKE Commercials from different countries

Here are some of NIKE's ad campaigns for different countries. Can you tell which one goes with which country? What are the benefits of using a localized approach for marketing in sports wear and footwear throughout the world?

My opinion is that you are more likely to buy sporting goods from a company if they hit on a certain nationalization appeal to your country. This includes using sports stars or evoking memories of national pride in their commercials, whether it be the world cup, a world famous athlete from your country or whatever it is particularly effective.

Countries include: United States, England, Spain, France, Russia and Germany













NIKE's youtube page

United Colors of Benetton

A couple weeks ago Professor Robles mentioned the Ad campaign that Benetton runs. It directs attention to issues that are totally unrelated to the product they are selling. Is this effective? Is it promoting something other than clothes?

Click on the title to go to their site and look at all of their ad campaigns.

Here are some pictures I found interesting:

What is International Marketing?

Because we are almost in the last week of classes I felt a review slide was necessary. Here is a webpage that I found that pretty much sums up the whole class in a few helpful and meaningful quotes.

The following are just introductions to a more detailed section of the webpage, the list of links can be found by clicking on the title if you want to read more about a certain subject, the website is very helpful.

What is International Marketing?

At its simplest level, international marketing involves the firm in making one or more marketing mix decisions across national boundaries. At its most complex level, it involves the firm in establishing manufacturing facilities overseas and coordinating marketing strategies across the globe.

Doole and Lowe (2001).

Note: Doole and Lowe differentiate between international marketing (simple mix changes) and global marketing (more complex and extensive).

International Marketing is the performance of business activities that direct the flow of a company's goods and services to consumers or users in more than one nation for a profit.

Cateora and Ghauri (1999)

Note: Cateora and Ghauri consider international marketing in the absence of global marketing.

International marketing is the application of marketing orientation and marketing capabilities to international business.

Muhlbacher, Helmuth, and Dahringer (2006)

Note: Muhlbacher et al consider international marketing in relation to marketing orientation and competences (see also Global Marketing).

The international market goes beyond the export marketer and becomes more involved in the marketing environment in the countries in which it is doing business.

Keegan (2002)

Note: Keegan's definition is typical of those that see international marketing a one stage of an internationalisation process.
What is Global Marketing?

Global marketing refers to marketing activities coordinated and integrated across multiple country markets.

Johansson (2000)

Note: Jonny K. Johansson defines global marketing as a bigger brother to international marketing i.e. more of an extension.

. . . The result is a global approach to international marketing. Rather than focusing on country markets, that is, the differences due to the physical location of customers groups, managers concentrate on product markets, that is, groups of customers seeking shared benefits or to be served with the same technology, emphasizing their similarities regardless of geographic areas in which they are located.

Muhlbacher, Helmuth, and Dahringer (2006)

Note: Muhlbacher et al delineate international marketing (adapted) and global marketing (standardised).

Global/transnational marketing focuses upon leveraging a company's assets, experience and products globally and upon adapting to what is truly unique and different in each country.

Keegan (2002)

Note: Keegan takes a strategic, corporate overview to define the transnational nature of global marketing.

So, as with many other elements of marketing, there is no single definition of international marketing, and there could be some confusion about where international marketing begins and global marketing ends. These lessons will assume that both terms are interchangeable, and will define international marketing as follows:

International marketing is simply the application of marketing principles to more than one country.


Environment analysis for international marketing.

One of the fundamental steps that needs to be taken prior to beginning international marketing is the environmental analysis. Of course there are many tools on Marketing Teacher that would prove useful at this stage such as lessons on the marketing environment, PEST Analysis, SWOT Analysis, POWER SWOT and Five Forces Analysis. However, the very specific and unique nature of each individual nation needs to be looked into. Below we consider the nature of an international PEST Analysis, and the influence of tariff and non-tariff barriers.


An International PEST Analysis.

PEST is a well-known and widely applied tool when considering the external nature of the domestic market. However, it is equally as useful when applied to the nature of the international marketing environment.

International PEST Analysis would consider:

* How easy will it be to move from purely domestic to international marketing?
* Would your business benefit from inward foreign investment?
* What is the nature of competition within each individual market, and how will
companies from other nations compete when you meet with them head-to-head in
unfamiliar countries?
* Many other factors that are specific to your organization or industry.


What is the influence of culture on international marketing?

Culture is the way that we do things around here. Culture could relate to a country (national culture), a distinct section of the community (sub-culture), or an organization (corporate culture). It is widely accepted that you are not born with a culture, and that it is learned. So, culture includes all that we have learned in relation to values and norms, customs and traditions, beliefs and religions, rituals and artefacts (i.e. tangible symbols of a culture, such as the Sydney Opera House or the Great Wall of China).


How to Enter a Foreign Market.

This lesson gives an outline of the way in which an organization should select which foreign to enter. The International Marketing Entry Evaluation Process is a five stage process, and its purpose is to gauge which international market or markets offer the best opportunities for our products or services to succeed. The five steps are Country Identification, Preliminary Screening, In-Depth Screening, Final Selection and Direct Experience. Let's take a look at each step in turn.


How does an organization enter an overseas market?
Background

A mode of entry into an international market is the channel which your organization employs to gain entry to a new international market. This lesson considers a number of key alternatives, but recognizes that alteratives are many and diverse. Here you will be consider modes of entry into international markets such as the Internet, Exporting, Licensing, International Agents, International Distributors, Strategic Alliances, Joint Ventures, Overseas Manufacture and International Sales Subsidiaries. Finally we consider the Stages of Internationalization.

It is worth noting that not all authorities on international marketing agree as to which mode of entry sits where. For example, some see franchising as a stand alone mode, whilst others see franchising as part of licensing. In reality, the most important point is that you consider all useful modes of entry into international markets - over and above which pigeon-hole it fits into. If in doubt, always clarify your tutor's preferred view.


Media Choices for International Marketing

Marketing communications in international markets needs to be conducted with care. This lesson will consider some of the key issues that you need to take into account when promoting products or services in overseas markets. There will be influences upon your media choice, cultural issues to be considered, as well as the media choices themselves - personal selling, advertising, and others.
Influences upon International Media Choice.

There are a number of factors that will impact upon choice and availability of media such as:

* The nature and level of competition for marcoms channels in your target market.
* Whether or not there is a rich variety of media in your target market.
* The level of economic development in your target market (for example, in remote
regions of Africa there would be no mains electricity on which to run TVs or
radios).
* The availability of other local resources to assist you with your campaign will
also need to be investigated (for example, sales people or local advertising
expertise).
* Local laws may not allow specific content or references to be made in adverts
(for example, it is not acceptable to show naked legs in adverts displayed in
Muslim countries).
* And of course a lot depends upon the purpose of the international campaign in
the first place. What are your international marketing communications objectives?


How should we set prices for international markets?

This lesson considers the basics of pricing for international marketing. As with all of the international marketing lessons, every country and culture within it will influence price. So here we are going to look at some of the common influences upon pricing decision-making, the impact of grey markets, international approaches to pricing, and more mainstream marketing approaches to pricing that can be applied to an international context.


Standardization versus Adaptation.

As you will see from this website, product is a focal element of the marketing mix. When considering the nature of products and services in international marketing, the same models apply such as:

* Product Life Cycle (PLC) - products could be at different points in the PLC in
various nations, possibly creating new opportunities.
* Ansoff's Matrix - market development could mean that an existing product is
marketed in a new international market.
* Three Levels of a Product - marketers would consider the local market's need for
core, actual and augmented products.
* Internet Marketing and Product - how do eMarketers make product decisions?

However, international product decision-making often centres around the standardization versus adaptation debate. Essentially, do we market the same, standard product in an international market or segment, or do we localize it, and adapted it so that it pleases local tastes? Here are some of the advantages and disadvantage of standardization.

Advertising With a Cause

Do you think this advertising is more effective than just showing the product? Are you more likely to buy this product than another similar product because it is better or because it has a cause behind it?

To learn more about their campaign click on the title.

Barack Obama becomes celebrity sportswear endorser

From Times Online
November 27, 2008

Hannah Strange

Tiger Woods costs $20 million a year. David Beckham, £10m. In these troubled economic times, sportswear manufacturers may find themselves having to reevaluate such costly celebrity endorsements, but fortunately for them the world's most popular gym fanatic has stepped in to offer his services. Cost: $0 for four years, with the possibility to extend in 2012.

The media fascination with Barack Obama's sporting antics is a boon for makers of leading athletic brands, which the president-elect has been pictured wearing on frequent trips to the gym and basketball court. The current presidential favourite appears to be Nike, the famous tick spotted on Mr Obama's attire so regularly that one would be forgiven for suspecting a product placement deal.

Not so, says Nike, but nevertheless the company is pleased that so stylish a figure favours its products.

"We don't make a point of giving the president-elect any products for free, but we're glad that he has such good taste in sportswear, whether he's working it out or taking it easy," Nike spokesman Charlie Brooks unashamedly told The Times.

When Mr Obama strolled down a Hawaii beach in August, it was a Nike t-shirt that he wore. When he showed off his basketball skills in a school challenge in April, his trainers bore the distinctive logo. On occasions he has turned himself into a veritable walking billboard, sporting Nike from head-to-toe.

However the President-Elect has been careful not to show too much favour to the Portland-based brand. Perhaps a little controversially, the Japanese brand ASICS seems to have recently replaced Nike as Mr Obama's footwear of choice. Pictures of post-election gym trips have shown him wearing the ASICSGel Nimbus 10, a new model which retails for around $120 (£80).

ASICS, less well known in the States than its domestic rivals, described itself as "thrilled" with the endorsement.

Eóin Treacy of ASICS UK said: "Barack Obama is said to pick only the best and brightest for his team and he's certainly done that with his footwear."

The North Face, the California-based outdoor wear company, has also benefited from a presidential endorsement. Pictures of Mr Obama in one of their fleece jackets were splashed across the pages of the world's newspapers after he wore it to take his daughters to school just five days after his election victory; he was pictured wearing it again on a gym trip the following week.

Such photo opportunities can be worth millions to sportswear companies, according to branding experts.

To finish the article click on the title.

Creative advertisements from around the world

Sometimes advertisements have to be eye catching to be successful. Here are some examples.

To see more click on the title.

In Slump, Vegas Pushes Escapism

(Newser) – Las Vegas has enthusiastically promoted itself to travelers interested in pastimes other than gambling in recent years, but now that economic woes are tightening leisure budgets, Sin City is taking a hit, reports Advertising Age. With visitor volume and gaming revenue down, casinos are scrambling to respond. One has a less-than-subtle new slogan: "Shut up & play."

Hotels are slashing room rates, and the big names on the Strip are emphasizing service and focusing on wealthy customers. Other hotels have begun relying more on loyalty programs and direct mailing to draw in guests. And the tourism bureau has a new slogan, too: "Crazy times call for crazy fun."

Wall Street Journal Invades News York Times' Ad Turf

By Sarah Rabil

Nov. 21 (Bloomberg) -- The Wall Street Journal is invading the New York Times' advertising turf as competition intensifies in a souring U.S. economy.

Saks Inc., a Times advertiser since 1924, recently chose to promote a new Chanel boutique and made-to-measure men's suits in the Journal. Owner Rupert Murdoch's expansion of general news coverage and a new lifestyle magazine are starting to attract wealthy consumers and create ad space for retailers, said Milton Pedraza, chief executive officer of Luxury Institute LLC.

``They certainly have become a significant part of the advertising mix for luxury brands where they were not before,'' said Pedraza, whose New York research group tracks the market for the most expensive lines of consumer goods and services. ``They're definitely stealing advertising dollars.''

Italian fashion label Dolce & Gabbana SpA and LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA have also started advertising in the Journal as Murdoch, 77, seeks to overtake the Times. Both newspapers are fighting for a piece of a shrinking U.S. ad market with spending set to contract 6.8 percent next year to $150 billion, according to a Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. estimate. Murdoch is also pressing the fight online.

New York Times Co. cut its dividend yesterday by almost three-fourths as revenue crumbles. The flagship newspaper will probably ``moderate'' ad rate increases for next year and is discussing discounts with advertisers, chief advertising officer Denise Warren said in an interview before the announcement.

``Given what's going on with the economy, we want to be careful,'' she said.

Close Watch

The Times is also expanding financial news coverage, executive editor Bill Keller said. While Keller says the newspapers aren't locked in a ``mano-a-mano death struggle,'' he can name more than 25 business stories where the Times beat its New York rival this year.

``When somebody says he's willing to spend the bank to become the new version of the New York Times, you watch them closely,'' Keller said in an interview. The Journal is the first newspaper he reads every morning after the Times.

Keller isn't the only one eyeing the competition. Michael Rooney, the Journal's chief revenue officer, said he flips through the Times everyday to see who's advertising and instructs sales people to contact potential clients.

News Corp. has the resources to keep investing in the Journal, said Wachovia Capital Markets analyst John Janedis. The Times hasn't been as aggressive, he said.

``If this becomes a prolonged recession, it becomes an advertising war, and it becomes who can tough it out longer,'' New York-based Janedis said.

Ad Plunge

Ad revenue at the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune and their Web sites fell 15 percent in October to $113.9 million, the company said yesterday. Luxury accounts for more than 10 percent of ad sales within that unit. News Corp. doesn't break out financial information for the Journal.

Class A shares of News Corp., which acquired Journal-owner Dow Jones & Co. last year for $5.2 billion, have lost 70 percent this year on the New York Stock Exchange and rose 13 percent to $6.19 at 4:15 p.m. today. New York Times, also down 70 percent for the year, slid 6.6 percent to $5.34.

The Journal is only offering set discounts for bulk, new advertiser or repeat-purchase deals, Rooney said. The publication plans to raise rates for 2009 because of expanded coverage, more subscribers and other investments, Rooney said.

``We will increase rates next year,'' he said. ``We'll do that because we're investing in our product.''

The average individually paid circulation of the Journal rose 2.4 percent to 1.4 million as of September from a year ago, according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations. The Times' slid 5.5 percent to 858,985 on that basis.

to continue to the rest of the article click on the title above

For Luxury Brands, Less Money to Spend on Ads

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD
Published: November 23, 2008

Gold was raining from above for luxury brands in the good old days of 2007.

Tradema of America distributes Girard-Perregaux watches in the United States and is slashing its ad budget by 20 percent.

Last December, the designer Marc Jacobs held his annual holiday party for 800 guests, including revelers from Vogue, W, and Harper’s Bazaar, in the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. With the theme of Arabian Nights, Mr. Jacobs had arranged for tableaux vivants, contortionists, five open bars, bare-chested women bedecked in gold necklaces, bare-chested men balancing candelabras on their heads and, at one point, a shower of gold glitter poured over the guests.

Mr. Jacobs has held the party for each of the last 18 years, but on Nov. 4, a short e-mail message was sent out by his business partner, Robert Duffy: “Due to the financial climate, I had to make the decision to cancel the 2008 holiday party.”

After getting through most of this year unscathed, luxury brands are suffering. Rich consumers who were relatively insulated from the economic downturn continued spending, but that has changed in the last few months. While luxury spending began to fall slightly from June, in October alone, it dropped 20.1 percent, according to MasterCard SpendingPulse, which estimates consumer spending in the retail and service sectors.

That drop-off means more bad news for magazines and newspapers in the United States that had grown increasingly dependent on luxury advertising.

Ad pages at the top luxury magazines fell 22 percent year over year for the December issues, according to Media Industry Newsletter. Vogue, for example, dropped from 284 pages last December, to 221 pages this December, while Food & Wine went from 160 pages to 126, according to the newsletter.

That has meant cutbacks at publishers. In October, Condé Nast announced it would reduce Men’s Vogue from 10 issues a year to two, reduce the number of issues of Condé Nast Portfolio and cut magazine budgets by 5 percent. Niche Media, which publishes Gotham and Hamptons, laid off some employees and closed a shelter magazine. American Express Publishing, which owns Departures, Travel & Leisure and Food & Wine, is laying off 4 percent of its staff.

“It’s definitely an environment that most have never seen,” said Ed Ventimiglia, the publisher of Departures. “Everyone is very concerned and somewhat confused as to what they should do.”

To continue to the rest of the article click on the title above

In 2d crack at China market, Dunkin' Donuts alters recipe

link to video

The sweet potato doughnuts are a dead giveaway: This is no ordinary Dunkin' Donuts.

And it was no ordinary store opening in Shanghai yesterday for the Massachusetts chain. Dancers in lion costumes exorcised evil spirits and summoned luck and fortune. Hundreds of customers lined up for their first chance at Dunkin's offerings at the new shop, a two-story venue with couches and cushy chairs.

The new store heralds the chain's return to China after giving up on the market a decade ago. Foreign companies have long coveted the opportunity to sell products to the world's most populous country, but not everyone has succeeded. Trying to cater to 1.3 billion consumers can be daunting, and bureaucratic hurdles there only make it harder.

When Dunkin' opened its first store there in 1994, the doughnut chain struggled. Its treats were too sweet; it underestimated the challenge of converting a nation of tea drinkers to coffee; and, inexplicably, Dunkin' chose as a local partner an aerospace firm that had no experience running restaurants. By the late 1990s, Dunkin' had retreated.

Now Dunkin' is back because China is simply too big to ignore. The company plans to open 100 stores in Shanghai over the next 10 years, another 50 stores in the Guangdong region to the south, and potentially thousands more across the country. Dunkin', in the midst of a nationwide expansion in America, has 6,143 US stores and nearly 2,400 international shops, earning about $5.3 billion in sales worldwide last year.

"The single biggest potential we have outside the US is China," Tony Pavese, chief operations officer for Dunkin' international, said in a phone interview from Shanghai, where he helped cut the ribbon at the new store. "It's a milestone."

Retail analysts say companies have labored for years to understand how to make it in this irresistible but incredibly complex marketplace. Whirlpool Corp. is on its third attempt after losing millions on two failed joint ventures in China to sell its dishwashers, refrigerators, and washing machines.

After spending millions to establish a presence in China, online auction house eBay Inc. shut its main website in China and tried again with a joint venture with a local Internet company. Kraft Foods Inc. had to remake its iconic Oreo into a chocolate-covered wafer cookie in order to appeal to Chinese consumers.

"There is a saying that in China, 'everything is possible, and nothing is easy,' " said Dennis Lombardi, executive vice president of food service strategies for WD Partners, a development firm.

Dunkin's failure when it first entered China has made executives particularly sensitive about getting it right this time. First, it found a local partner - Mercuries & Associates - that operates numerous shopping centers and restaurants throughout Asia, and knows the ins and outs of getting permits and passing inspections.

Smart Car vs. Mini Car

The Smart Car has only one true competitor in the United States, and it's a hybrid. In fact the top tier hybrids, like the Toyota Prius are in league of their own. For instance the Prius has great storage capacity; comfortable seating for 4-5 passengers and its fuel efficiency is the best on the market today. The Smart Car can not compete with a hybrid, simply because it isn't a hybrid. The Smart Car's only true competitor in the United States is the Mini Cooper. Both the Mini Cooper and the Smart Car have small frames and give good gas mileage. Both cars have limited storage capacity and have small engines.

After some analysis I have deduced that the Mini Cooper is the better car, and the safer car. The Mini Cooper has a higher top speed, accelerates faster, has more storage capacity, and it can travel further off of one full tank. The Smart Car has better fuel efficiency, but not by much. The Smart Car is smaller in length and width, but not by staggering amount. It is also important to note that the standard parking spot is 18 feet long. Both vehicles would allow the driver to park in more areas than the average making both cars convenient to have in a congested city. Although the Mini Cooper is more than $6000 more expensive, I feel like Americans would be willing to pay more for a compact car that has better safety ratings and more storage capacity. It is also important to note that Americans generally are speed driven and the fact that Mini Cooper allows its driver to reach speeds over 100 miles per hour is another huge factor that makes the Mini Cooper a better fit for Americans. My explanation for why the Smart Car has a lot of popularity right now is, because it’s new and different. However, it’s not practical for most Americans. I foresee the Smart Car phasing out of the American automobile market in five years.

take a look at http://www.safercar.gov/portal/site/safercar/menuitem.94b0130be143aeb342252f0835a67789/?vgnextoid=68adf2905bf54110VgnVCM1000002fd17898RCRD

Celebrities in Japanese Commercials

Japanese commercials have the habit of using American celebrities with their indirect adveritising, where most of the commercials that involve them relate nothing to what the product does.

As you can see when you watch these commercials they are do things very differently. I believe commercials offer a unique window into a culture and the Japanese commercials are no exception. You at once get to see how companies and often entire industries treat their customers. You see how the customers are handled and approached. The differences between North American and Japanese commercials are often significant, sometimes strangely similar, and not infrequently a mix of both.

I often think that Japanese commercials are very surreal, and it would appear to my untrained eye that this is due in no small part to the Japanese belief that, as a general rule, direct confrontation should be avoided. Unlike in North America you won't see any "we're better than the leading competition" or "Cleans whiter than Brand X and costs less!" in a Japanese commercial. Without this battery of carefully worded and often misleading data, Japanese commercials are forced to rely solely on visual and emotional impact to sell a product. This causes the commercials to be indirect and off topic, somewhat like Japanese business dealings. They don't care at ALL whether their commercials are grounded in reality. The sequence of sounds and images are often completely based in artistic fantasy, or use images completely unrelated to the product. Almost all of the commercials have no mention of the company, product or services until the very end. Catchy tunes, visual effects, and imagery are reccuring effects in the commercials. Some believe in Japanese culture that you should not have a lot to say, if you do, you are thought to be weird, self centered or interested; this is shown in the commercials by no mention about the product, and in some commercials there is no dialogue at all.

But this is how their commercials work. Please leave your comments below.



Here is a website that lists and shows all the commercials its called Panderers in Japan

There is also this site that lists this bloggers top 21 favorite Japanese Panderer ads

Here are some of my favorites:











From the Movie "Lost in Translation"









What do you think about these ads? Do you think the extraordinary cost of of the commercials are worth the final product?

Multi Channel Marketing Institute

http://www.gomultichannel.com/index.html

Which Marketing Channel Do You Use?

By: Derek Both

There are so many marketing channels you can choose from, whether it is online or offline. What marketing channel do you use? What works for you? Are you looking for more ways to market your business and get the word out about your products and/or services? This article will show you several marketing channels you can choose from, and find out which ones work the best for you. Sometimes, you just have to plan to use a particular marketing channel and then put your all into it. Over time, the results will show you which ones to stick with.

Marketing communications have been around since businesses have. It is just a method to get your potential customers and clients interested in your business, to get to know your business name, products, mission, services, etc. Marketing is a way to get your potential customers and clients to walk through that door or click on your website. From there, it is all about sales. However, you can also choose several marketing methods that are inside your store or on your website.

Direct marketing is extremely important. There are several different ways to direct market. According to Wikipedia, direct marketing is used when measurable leads, sales, or traffic (retail or web) are the objective. A direct marketing effort is undertaken to generate a specific response -- which can be tracked and measured.

There are many channels to choose from when using direct marketing, including the following:

- Newspapers
- Magazines
- TV
- Mail
- Email
- Websites
- Radio
- Billboard

Direct marketing is basically when you are advertising to a certain group of potential customers and you ask them to call you, visit your website, or come into your store. That is the first step in making a sale.

Direct mail marketing can be done two different ways. One, for example, if you want to advertise locally, you could send out postcards, flyers, etc. to every resident in your area or town. If you want to target your existing customers or potential customers you can send the mail to all of them.

Email marketing can be a little tricky because of all of the spam programs out there, and people getting ultimately frustrated about potential spam messages. However, you can use email marketing in a safe and possibly effective way. You can use opt-in emails to send out messages to market your business, and it has been very successful for many web businesses.

No matter what form of marketing you choose to use, make sure you first weigh the pros and cons of each one. One of the biggest cons can be the cost. Is it worth choosing a certain direct marketing method for the cost? The pros can be your increase in sales, website hits and more. You will also need a way to track every direct marketing method you choose so you can see which ones are doing what. Once you find a marketing plan that works for you, you will be on your way to direct marketing success!

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

www.dmglimited.co.uk/ is a Direct Mail List Broker, offering many options in relation to marketing channels

ADVERTISING SENSITIVITY AND INTEGRATED MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS IN THE INTERNATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Ashish Chandra, Xavier University of Louisiana
Ron Cheek, Morehead State University
Usha Kiran Rai, Banaras Hindu University

ABSTRACT
In order to survive in this highly competitive global marketplace, it is extremely essential for organizations to have an effective integrated marketing communication plan in place. Having a knowledge about the various types of markets that exist in the world, and in particular in Asia which is perhaps the most rapidly growing market, will help achieve this objective. This paper provides us an overview of the role of technology in integrated marketing communications and also how marketing communications should be carried out in the Asian market.

to read more click on the title

2008 Marketing ROI and Measurements Study

Published by Lenskold Group and sponsored by Kneebone

For highlights of the 2008 Study, view the press release (click here).

Download the full 2008 Marketing ROI & Measurement Report (registration required for free access to the report).

Some select charts from the report:

Marketers with ROI Discipline Pull Ahead while Data Access and Measurement Abilities Hold Others Back

Lenskold Group & Kneebone release 2008 Marketing ROI & Measurements Study with insights into the influence of data, intelligence, metrics and measurement abilities on marketing effectiveness and efficiency.

For Immediate Release

Manasquan, NJ, June 23, 2008 - Companies with highly effective and efficient marketing report higher use of ROI and profitability metrics, greater strengths in the ability to measure marketing performance, and better access to critical information for marketing analysis. And these high performance companies are much more likely to be outgrowing their competition. The fourth annual Marketing ROI and Measurements study conducted by Lenskold Group and sponsored by Kneebone also indicates that the marketing community generally perceives more weaknesses than strengths in terms of measurement abilities.

More marketers provided negative ratings on the measurement abilities examined than positive ratings. This included basic capabilities such as their ability to measure the incremental impact of marketing (32% positive ratings, 35% negative ratings with the balance remaining neutral) and the ability to diagnose performance gaps (26% positive vs. 44% negative). Companies with highly effective and efficient marketing positively rated their measurement abilities at two to three times the levels of the overall marketing community.

Perceptions on their ability to access critical information were more positive than measurement abilities, with the exception of data that tended to be under marketing’s control. Surprisingly, marketers reported having better access to information such as sales and financial data than for detailed information on marketing spend, contact history, and marketing response/lead data. Clearly marketing is holding its own performance back with its lack of automation and discipline to capture information that can be analyzed to measure and improve performance. Access to these forms of marketing data was rated much more highly by companies that have highly effective and efficient marketing.

Other key findings from the Lenskold Group/Kneebone 2008 Marketing ROI & Measurements Study include:

• While overall adoption may be slow, commitment to ROI and measurement capabilities remain high as 75% of all marketers indicate that their company has made at least some progress. Roughly a third (36%) have improved their measurements of marketing impact on sales and 29% have applied measurements to improve the profitability of marketing.

• Companies using marketing ROI and profitability metrics to assess their marketing performance were more likely to report having somewhat or highly effective and efficient marketing (79%) compared to those companies using just non-financial, traditional marketing metrics (42%).

• Over half of those companies with highly effective and efficient marketing use ROI and profitability metrics to assess the effectiveness of their marketing (53% vs. the overall rate of 26%).

• The most common approach to planning and budgeting was through top-down objectives, targets, and annual budget allocation, used by 38% overall. Companies using ROI and profitability metrics had a much higher use of rolling plans continuously updated with current forecasts and marketing adjustments. Companies using only traditional metrics and those growing slower than their competitors were more likely to use planning and budget allocations based on slight modifications to prior year plans.

• More than half (52%) of marketers report that their marketing budget is below the level necessary to achieve their goals. Companies with highly effective and efficient marketing were less likely to report having insufficient budget (34%).

• Companies that have initiated modeling/analytics with outsourced partners showed much higher positive ratings on their ability to measure the incremental impact of marketing (51% vs. 29% overall) and diagnosing performance gaps (43% vs. 25% overall).

“High performance marketing organizations are demonstrating the benefits of good measurements, ROI analyses, and insights,” said Jim Lenskold. “They are more effective, more efficient, and outgrowing their competitors. This type of progress raises the credibility and value of marketing overall.”

The full 45-page report with detailed findings and recommendations is available at www.lenskold.com/trendstudy. The report also includes a sponsor commentary from Kneebone (www.kneebone.com), a company specializing in providing marketing organizations with improved financial effectiveness. In addition, a special section of the research survey was conducted with B2B marketers on the topic of lead generation marketing. The B2B Lead Generation ROI and Performance Evaluation report with those results, prepared by Lenskold Group for MarketingProfs, will be released separately at www.marketingprofs.com.

for more info click on the title

Good Question Raised on Marketing News Blog

Your Turn – Pick Marketing Hits & Misses of 2008

We’ve begun planning and researching for our year-end issue of Marketing News which will include a look at marketing hits and misses for 2008. What would you put in each of those categories?

Did Barack Obama score a hit with his 30-minute TV buy on several networks, attracting on the order of 33 million viewers?

How about john McCain and his use of Joe the Plumber? Or maybe the biggest marketing hit of the year politically should be credited to Saturday Night Life which scored a ratings comeback thanks to Tina Fey aka Sarah Palin. I watched some of those and was struck by how unfunny some of the non-political skits were. The show still isn’t as good as it once was, in my opinion.

What about marketing hits in other areas? With the economy such a mess now it’s sometimes hard to think about what happened earlier this year, so help us out with your thoughts. What was the big consumer good product marketing hit of the year? How about in BtoB or marketing research breakthroughs?

Branding the London 2012 Olympic Games

Brand protection information


The value of the London 2012 brand is vital to the funding of the Games.

You can help support London 2012 by understanding and respecting the need to protect the brand, and by not using our emblems or otherwise creating an association with the Games unless you are sure you are entitled to do so.

The FAQs below give an overview of why the London 2012 Organising Committee must protect its brand, what our legal rights are, and what you should and should not do in relation to our brand.

We have also produced the following documents which you may find useful - see 'related publications'.

Frequently asked questions
Why is protecting the London 2012 brand so important?
The hundreds of millions of pounds necessary to organise the Games must be raised by the London 2012 Organising Committee from the private sector – by selling sponsorship, official merchandise and tickets.

To raise the necessary revenue, the London 2012 Organising Committee must be able to give its sponsors an exclusive association to London 2012 and the Olympic and Paralympic movements in the UK. As such we must prevent other companies undertaking unauthorised activities which damage our sponsors’ exclusive rights.

If anyone could use the 'Games' Marks' (see below) for free, or otherwise create an association with the Games, sponsors and merchandise licensees would not want to invest in the Games.

Similarly, uncontrolled or free use of the brand could damage its reputation and prestige.

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